NEW YORK: MDC Partners, the owner of Allison+Partners, Kwittken, HL Group, Albion, and Sloane & Company, has entered into an agreement with Goldman Sachs to sell a $95 million (£76.3 million) stake in the holding company.
Once the deal is complete, Goldman Sachs will own 15% of the holding company, which owns creative shops such as Crispin Porter & Bogusky and 72andSunny. MDC’s stable of agencies also includes Anomaly, Doner, and Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners.
Last November, The Wall Street Journal reported MDC was exploring a potential sale with investment banking advisor LionTree following weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings and a Securities and Exchange Commission probe following former chief executive Miles Nadal's resignation over his expenses.
MDC chief executive Scott Kauffman, who replaced Nadal in 2015, refuted claims by Gotham City Research last year that the company was "bleeding cash and issuing debt."
Goldman Sachs has purchased non-voting convertible preference shares, so it will not vote on business matters. Bradley Gross, MD in Goldman's merchant banking division, will join MDC's board of directors, which will expand to seven members.
This story first appeared on campaignlive.co.uk.